Pelé tries to play down pressure on Brazil star Neymar

Pelé has played down talk that Neymar could outscore club team mate Lionel Messi and fellow La Liga rival Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2014 World Cup.

The Barcelona forward has the weight of Brazil on his shoulders and many are expecting him to play a massive part in helping the host country win the World Cup.

The legendary Brazilian, though, isn’t sure if Neymar will be able to handle the pressure but he did insist that the 22-year-old is a “good player.”

In an interview with Sky Sports News, Pelé said: “It is complicated to say because I saw several players that are very good, that play in Europe and are already very good – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo – but the World Cup is a little more complicated.

“You see a player who was fantastic in the league and in the World Cup he is not the same.”

The 73-year-old went on to list Neymar as an example of somebody who is fantastic but may not be able to replicate his form on the biggest stage of the world.

Pelé concluded: “In Brazil we have Neymar; everybody knows and will expect Neymar to be a great player, but this is his first World Cup. I think it is too heavy to say to him, win the World Cup, be the best player in Brazil. But he is a good player.”